News & Analysis
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Zynga alums launch MobLabs, a Venice studio applying game design principles to everyday mobile products
When we use catch-all labels like accelerator, incubator, or studio to describe early stage investing models, it’s easy to forget that each organization is entirely unique. Typically, each is a reflection of its founders, their values and experiences, and their reputation and thus ability to attract talent and capital. Y Combinator and N Combinator (yes, that’s a real thing), for example, are both accelerators in name only. The current craze appears to be the studio model, with a number… -
Apple’s $100M iPad pledge to underprivileged schools is more about PR than meaningful reform
Students need iPads like dehydrated people need seawater: it might seem like a good idea, but the devices are likely to create more problems than they solve. But that’s not going to stop Apple from giving away more than $100 million worth of its products to students in 29 states in an effort to “make a difference for students and communities” as part of President Obama’s ConnectED Initiative. The idea is that tablets, laptops, and other products can help improve classrooms in… -
Russia sponsored malware to steal US military files
FireEye has discovered that malware meant to steal United States military files from a firm based in the country was created by “a government sponsor — specifically, a government based in Moscow.” The malware was said to have been written to evade protection and move between computers which might not even be connected to the Internet. [Source: The Wall Street Journal] -
YouTube considers ad-free subscription service
YouTube is considering an advertisement-free version of its popular video service for people willing to a monthly subscription for access, the Wall Street Journal reports. The long-rumored music subscription service is also said to be coming “soon.” [Source: The Wall Street Journal] -
Thanks to the Apple Watch, 2014 is the year that Fitbit moved quickly back into the pack
Fitbit was a rare beast in 2007 when it was founded: an actual hardware startup in a time when such a thing was laughed at, taking the humble pedometer and giving it a huge software upgrade. The company took a big retailer first approach, slowly building out a network of 30,000 stores in 28 countries, staying relatively under the radar. It’s held big time competition from Nike’s FuelBand at bay and laps Jawbone’s UP band in sales. Last Christmas it… -
From malware to NSA targeting, Tor has more risks than its supporters let on
We’ve known for a while that Tor isn’t the digital panacea it’s often thought to be. Now, a security researcher has revealed that a person operating one of the “exit nodes” used by the service to anonymize Internet browsing has used the device to add malware to any downloads made through it, including those gotten from Microsoft’s update service, and advised Tor users to check their connections and devices. This isn’t the first problem Tor users have… -
PandoLIVE is LIVE now: Sexy ebola, naughty Uber, scandal in Vegas and Monica Lewinsky
Since this is technically our Halloween show, we’ve taken a cue from women’s Halloween costumes. Warning: That headline may be sexier than the show. But how do you know unless you tune in live and listen to Paul and me? Like, RIGHT NOW. Call 877-959-6739 to join the conversation, or @pandodaily on Twitter. -
How Motif helped two 11-year-olds beat Ivy League MBAs in an investing contest
A little over a year after opening up its thematic investment platform to the public, Motif has seen more than 75,000 individual investment motifs created by its users, co-founder and CEO Hardeep Walia announced today from the Stocktoberfest conference in Coronado. These motifs, which function like zero fee, low-cost ETFs, center around ideas like “Big Data,” “Bear International Market,” “Buy the Dip,” and “Biotech Breakthrough.” By comparison, it took the company’s team of… -
Twitter’s earnings are exactly what Wall Street expected. That’s not good.
Today, Twitter released its third quarter earnings report, and the numbers are pretty much exactly what Wall Street analysts expected. The company hit earnings-per-share expectations on the nose, posting a $0.01 EPS, and brought in $361 million in revenue, on an expected $351 million. It even met investor predictions for user growth, picking up 13 million new users to bring its grand total to 284 million. So if this was exactly what investors were looking for, why did its stock drop as much… -
Tonight’s PandoLIVE call-in show starts at 5pm Pacific
It’s Monday again! And that can only mean two things: 1) This is the day you wish your bed was already made 2) PandoLIVE starts at 5pm Pacific, hosted by me and Sarah Lacy On tonight’s show we’ll be talking about sexy ebola, Jerry Yang, sexy ebola, Soylent, sexy ebola, Uber, sexy ebola, Vegas Tech Fund and sexy ebola. The call in number if you’d like to join the conversation is 877-959-6739 or tweet @pandodaily or email studio@pandodaily.com. Otherwise you… -
Confirmed: Andy White leaving Vegas Tech Fund, marking shift in fund’s investment strategy
Further to Pando’s report that Andy White has left his role running Tony Hsieh’s Vegas Tech Fund, we’ve received confirmation of the move from partner Zach Ware. He also confirms a change in strategy for Vegas Tech Fund… “As companies (and funds) grow they often make strategic choices that take them in a different direction,” Ware wrote by email. “We have decided to focus our efforts on re-investing in select portfolio companies so we can provide the growth capital needed… -
Soylent’s creator stopped pooping, but not because of Soylent
Rob Rhinehart, creator of venture-backed gruel, attempted to use less a four liters of water a day. To do that, he didn’t poop for a day — which is weird, but not as weird as how he managed to do that: “Feces are almost entirely deceased gut bacteria and water. I massacred my gut bacteria the day before by consuming a DIY Soylent version with no fiber and taking 500mg of Rifaximin, an antibiotic with poor bioavailability, meaning it stays… -
Sources: Andy White, Vegas Tech Fund partner, latest to go in Tony Hsieh’s housecleaning
I’m hearing from various sources close to the Tony Hsieh’s Vegas Downtown Project that Andy White, a high profile partner in the Vegas Tech Fund, has been “let go” from the fund. I’m using those quote marks until I can get on the record confirmation of the circumstances behind White’s departure but the unconfirmed word in Vegas is that White was the latest firing in Hsieh’s downtown bloodletting. The departure comes just weeks after the surprise shuttering of… -
“Follow Ebola” is everything wrong with the Internet
Have you tweeted the word “Ebola” over the past few weeks? If so, then chances are you’ve received an automated @ reply from an account called Follow Ebola. The Ebola bot message reads, “hey <your name> I see that you are tweeting Ebola, check out zpr.io/GDgy for up to the minute #Ebola info.” So that’s pretty annoying, right? It’s bad enough to spam people, let alone to spam them over a serious public health crisis. But it gets worse.… -
Amazon’s “sitting on” $83M worth of unsold Fire Phones
Amazon is sitting on $83 million worth of Fire Phones, the well-received but little-understood smartphone it released earlier this year, Ars Technica reports. At this point the idea that the Fire Phone is a flop isn’t empty speculation — it’s a plain fact. [Source: Ars Technica]
